http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3755400,00.html 2 killed in Tel Aviv shooting
GLBT activist says shooting that killed 2, wounded 10 at gay community meeting place in central Tel Aviv was 'deliberate act against gay community'
Avi Cohen
Latest Update: 08.02.09, 00:15 / Israel News
A shooting incident occurred at a meeting place for the GLBT community in Tel Aviv late Saturday evening, and paramedics have reported two people dead. At least ten people have been wounded, six of them seriously.
The incident took place at a time during which teenagers belonging to the GLBT community were holding a meeting. At around 10:40 pm shots were heard at the meeting place in central Tel Aviv. A man dressed in black was spotted by eyewitnesses fleeing the scene, and he was later spotted again on a nearby street.
The police's Tel Aviv district commander, Major-General Shahar Ayalon, said the incident had not been preceded by threats to members of the community.
"For 15 years this place has served as a club belonging to the union for private rights. Today a teen meeting was taking place," he said. "At some point someone walked in and began firing left and right. The shooter escaped and we are searching for the suspect. We have no specific description of the suspect or the circumstances."
One eyewitness to the shooting said, "The place looked like a slaughterhouse." Another witness said the shooter had worn a mask. Civilians were warned to stay away from the area.
Eyal Amit, a member of the GLBT organization, told Ynet that many of the teens who met at the clubhouse had not yet informed their loved ones of their sexual orientation. "It's a very sensitive situation. What we know is that in order to get here one must come here especially. This was not some random shooting," he said.
Yaniv Weizmann, an activist for the GLBT community, told Ynet that "according to the assessments, this was a planned and deliberate act against the gay community".
Police have cleared the surrounding roads in order to allow ambulances to evacuate the wounded
Gays accuse shas for incitement
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104611.html Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz, Israel's only openly gay lawmaker, condemned the attack on a Tel Aviv gay and lesbian youth club on Saturday as a hate crime.
"This is undoubtedly the worst incident targeting the gay community in Israel. It has the characteristics of a hate crime, of someone who attacked to blindly strike out at every person on the spot," he said.
Mike Hamel, the head of the Aguda, Israel's LGBT organization, said such an attack was unprecedented in Israel.
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"We have joined the list of 'civilized' countries in which hatred is the standard," he said. "I don't know whether the incident was directed at youth, but it appears that it was directed at the community. This is baseless hatred that cost us dearly - this is what needs to be understood."
Tel Aviv City Council's Shas faction, an ultra-Orthodox party whose MKs have repeatedly spoken against homosexuality, extended its condolences to the victims and condemned the shooting.
"We are shocked and bereaved, and denounce without reservation the murderous incident that targeted Tel Aviv's gay community," the party said.
Shortly after the attack, an impromptu protest march was staged. Demonstrators carried banners accusing Shas politicians of inciting hatred against homosexuals.
Hamel said that "elements represented by [Shas leaders] Eli Yishai and Benizri that are fostering hatred are still stronger than the increasingly favorable attitude toward homosexuality."
Topic: 2 killed and 12 injured by gunman at Gay tel aviv place (Read 492 times)